Oakland Protesters Hold ‘Fuck the Police’ March on Christmas Night

In defiance of attempts to blame protesters for the deaths of NYPD police officers and calls to “suspend” protests, over 100 people in Oakland took to the streets on Christmas night for a “Fuck The Police” march.

There were no arrests.

The group began gathering at 5 PM, but more journalists and photographers showed up than protesters initially. Shortly before 6 PM, the crowd grew and spread from Oscar Grant Plaza (OGP) into the intersection of 14th and Broadway.

The group blocked traffic and began a “Black Lives Matter” chant that sounded like a Gregorian chant. The group soon began chanting, “Shut it down for Mike Brown,” and adding the names of other Black men recently killed by police, like Eric Garner and Oscar Grant. Every 28 hours police or those protected by law kill a Black man, woman or child, according to the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement.

Half a dozen families, including children and infants, took part in the protest.

Cadine Williams, holding a “Justice for O’Shaine Evans. No Justice No Peace” banner lead the way as the crowd marched west on Broadway into West Oakland chanting, “No Justice, No Peace! No Racist Police.” San Francisco Police shot Williams’ brother, North Oakland native O’Shaine Evans, seven times back in October. Police claim Evans aimed a weapon at an officer.

At MLK Way, the group passed three CHP cars near Oakland’s surveillance complex: the Domain Awareness Center. As the group neared the 980 Freeway, a nearby resident yelled, “Happy Christmas.” A few protesters responded, “Fuck Christmas!”

As protesters marched south on Adeline, a familiar chant got an uncommon remix. The call and response, “What do we want?” replaced the response “Justice” with “Dead Cops!” In Baltimore, Fox News deceptively edited footage of the sister of a man killed in police custody to make it appeared she called for killing cops. Many attending the FTP march proudly stated they wanted “No police at all.”

Before going under Interstate 880, a group of CHP cars guarded the freeway on ramp. Multiple protests in Oakland and Berkeley have lead to the freeway in the past month of protests. A bottle was thrown towards CHP but fell five feet shy of a uniformed officer.

Nicole Solis and her son Joaquin, both of Oakland, were among the protesters. She explained to her son that different people at the march had different intentions. “Some believe in the cause,” and others are here to be destructive, she said.

In explaining why she protested, “I don’t believe in the Christmas hype and indoctrination on materialism,” she explained, “I can’t think of a more meaningful way to experience the holidays than this issue and showing that other people care.”

Before the group reached Jack London, she departed with her son and a friend. “There’s too many skinny kids with masks on,” Solis said. “It’s another element.”

Walking over the Amtrak train tracks, individuals in the group broke windows at Jack London’s Beverages and More and Subway. A wine bottle hit a SF Chronicle photojournalists’ hand. Others also vandalized a Christmas tree at Jack London, the site of a previous protest.

The group marched north on Broadway where some pushed dumpsters into the street. One used a flare to light the trashcan on fire. The individual snatched this photojournalist’s camera and smashed its LCD screen with a hammer. After a physical confrontation, the man paid an undisclosed amount to compensate for the broken camera.

The group continued north on Broadway. Continuing the theme of “No Time Off” for cops, protesters chanted, “No Ho-Ho for the PoPo.” The group marched up Telegraph to 27th Street where police attempted to declare an unlawful assembly. The group dispersed in multiple directions. The “No Days Off” protest not only continued weeks of protests since the Nov. 24 non-indictment of Darren Wilson for the murder of Michael Brown, but more recently, attempts by police unions and politicians to use the deaths of two NYPD officers to malign protesters. In New York, protesters defied the call to “suspend” protests until the two slain officers are buried. Police also routinely get paid administrative leave, or time off, after officer-involved slayings.

This holiday season, hundreds of families throughout the county could not spend times with loved ones lost to police violence. Oakland’s No Days Off” echoed the sentiment, with cops being required to work to police protests. Some critiqued the protest, as it would only lead to more police overtime. Since 1990, police violence has cost the city of Oakland $74 million, according to Oakland Local’s Police Beat.

Multiple protests are planned for the weekend, including a noontime demonstration in San Francisco at Union Square. A massive die-in is planned for Saturday night in Oakland, with organizers convening at 7 PM and going to an undisclosed location for a four-and-a half hour “die-in.”

This story originally appeared in The ABC Movement